eBay Ventures into the Wireless Plan Business

A 30-day plan starts at $29

eBay (EBAY) has entered the business of selling wireless phone plans. The company has partnered with Red Pocket Mobile to sell wireless plans to people buying secondhand phones from the eBay marketplace. The eBay marketplace is a popular spot among consumers to browse for used phone deals. In the US, for example, a mobile phone is sold on eBay every four seconds.

Under the partnership with Red Pocket Mobile, people buying used phones on eBay are shown an option to buy a wireless plan just before they check out. Plans start at $29 per month, but there are also 360-day plans.

eBay partners with multi-network operator

Red Pocket Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator that works with the majority of America’s leading carriers. This means that a Red Pocket Mobile customer can choose to be on the Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint network, depending on their taste or coverage in their area. T-Mobile (TMUS) and Sprint (S) are seeking to merge in a roughly $26 billion deal.

Comcast (CMCSA) and Charter (CHTR), which also offer to sell wireless plans, have based their services on Verizon’s network.

Smartphone upgrade time

eBay is venturing into the business of selling wireless phone plans during a time when many consumers looking to get their hands on a newly released Apple iPhone or Google Pixel handset may want to put their old device up for sale.

eBay plans to reports its third-quarter results on October 17, and analysts are expecting revenue of $2.7 billion. The company reported revenue of $2.6 billion in the second quarter, up 9.1% year-over-year.